Sony’s VR Future Looks Murkier, Transfers Hundreds of Its Patents to Meta

Sony appears to be pulling back from virtual reality hardware because a new report suggests that the company has approved the transfer of hundreds of VR-related patents to Meta. The news first reported by ZDNet Korea, suggests that Sony and Meta have been transferring patents since June, with 43 U.S. patent properties already changing hands between June and September 2026 (via PushSquare).

Sony is handing hundreds of VR patents to Meta

The agreement reportedly covers 419 patents worldwide, including patents filed in the U.S., Japan, China, South Korea and Europe and cover technologies related to virtual reality, augmented reality and mixed reality, including head-mounted displays, XR applications and different types of XR glasses. The original agreement between Sony and Meta was reportedly signed in December 2025.

The transfer is significant because Meta is one of Sony’s biggest rivals in the VR market. While Meta continues investing heavily in Quest and other XR products, Sony’s commitment to PlayStation VR has become increasingly difficult to read.

Sony launched the original PSVR for PS4 and later followed it with PSVR2 for PS5. However, the company has not maintained the same level of momentum around VR software and hardware that it has with its core PlayStation business.

That has now led to speculation that Sony could be scaling back its VR ambitions even further or may have may have just pulled itself out of VR race while Meta continues to build its position in the market. That being said, Sony hasn’t officially abandoned PSVR or confirmed that PSVR2 is its final headset. Neither Sony nor Meta has publicly announced that the patent transfer marks the end of Sony’s VR business. If we come across any update, we’ll update you with a separate article.